Christmas came early for Kansas University’s football team.
The Jayhawks received signed letters of intent from a whopping six junior college players on the first day of the winter juco football signing period.
Hutchinson Community College defenders Leo Etienne, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker, and Greg Cole, a 6-3, 230-pound defensive end, signed with KU on Wednesday. So did Brock Teddleton, a 6-6, 340-pound offensive lineman from Coffeyville CC, and Charlie Dennis, a 6-5, 240-pound defensive end from Butler County CC.
Jawad Pearson, a 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman from Chaffey (Calif.) College, and Dan Lewis, a 6-5, 295-pound offensive lineman from Phoenix College, made it an even half dozen.
All six plus already-committed John Harvey, a 6-6, 305-pound offensive lineman from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College are expected to enroll at KU in January.
“Kansas had a top-five junior college class last season,” said Jon Kirby, editor of online recruiting service MoKan Football. “Some people had them fifth in the country. Some had Kansas as high as No. 2. This class has to be considered every bit as successful as that. Not only are they getting kids recruited by other Division One schools, but every one of these kids will be there for spring football. It’s almost unheard of to sign seven junior college kids and have them all be mid-year guys. That gives them a spring practice under their belts, and that’s huge.”
The versatile Cole boasts a 4.5-second 40-yard dash time, and he played tight end at times at Hutch. He’s originally from Miami Killian High.
“He’s such a good football player we even played him at tight end,” Hutchinson coach David Wheeler told MoKan Football. “But we moved him back. He was our most recruited athlete.”
Cole had offers from KU, Missouri, South Carolina, Clemson, Oklahoma State, and Central Florida. Tennessee also recruited him but backed off in the first week of December.
“Kansas just felt right,” Cole said. “I like the position I’ll play there. I liked the players and coach (Terry) Allen. I liked everything about my visit. I was daydreaming the other day and saw myself playing for Kansas. I’ve graduated and I’m ready to go. I’m ready to get to Lawrence and start lifting so I can get stronger and bigger.”
Dennis, from Derby, had 26 sacks in his two-year Butler County CC career.
“He has a motor that always runs,” Butler County coach Troy Morrell said. “He really gets around the corner.”
Dennis picked KU over Minnesota, Syracuse, Arkansas, Marshall, Maryland and South Carolina.
“I liked both Kansas and Syracuse,” he said. “It was close between both schools. I liked KU’s defensive scheme, and I’m going to play a defensive end where Chaz Murphy played this year. I’m not a blazing-fast guy, but I play hard and wear people down. I just keep playing hard. I’m looking forward to competing in the Big 12. I’m glad I’m staying close to home so my parents can watch me play.”
Etienne, from Auburndale, Fla., received offers from Missouri, Purdue, Oklahoma State, New Mexico State, Central Florida, Ole Miss, and New Mexico. He was the third leading tackler in the Jayhawk Conference with 108 total stops last season. He also had a conference-leading 22 tackles for losses.
“Coach (Mark) Farley did a good job of recruiting me,” Etienne said. “He was on me from the start. Plus he’s my position coach, so that helped a lot.
“One of the main reasons was, (the Jayhawks) have a good academic program. I had a chance to talk with a lot of players on my visit and they feel their program is real close to turning the corner. It was a good fit for me.”
Etienne, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a high school senior, started as a freshman and was a first-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection as a sophomore.
Lewis picked Kansas over Baylor, Marshall, Temple, Southern Mississippi and New Mexico State
“Kansas made a nice impression on me,” he said. “I knew it was the right place for me. I couldn’t wait to get back home and tell the people how nice Kansas was.”
Lewis was recruited to KU by graduate assistant Chris Kapilovic, the former offensive line coach and strength coach at Phoenix College.
Pearson, rated as a “four-star” recruit by Rivals.com, is regarded as one of the top offensive linemen in the California juco ranks.
“I really liked my visit,” Pearson told MoKan Football. “I met the players and they were all real good. I met the coaches and really liked them and coach Allen. They have good facilities and living arrangements for the players. I got a chance to meet the new offensive line coach and liked him. Kansas stuck with me the longest, and they were there from the beginning.”
Pearson picked KU over Memphis, New Mexico, Georgia Tech, LSU and Iowa State.
Teddleton, from Herculaneum (Mo.) High, was placed at Coffeyville by Missouri, to whom he committed out of high school. He started as a freshman and was an NJCAA All-American in track.
A preseason NJCAA All-American, Teddleton suffered what was believed to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
“I went into the doctors and they told me it was torn,” Teddleton told MoKan. “Then after awhile they looked at it again and discovered it was just sprained. They told me I could actually get back on the field this year and play the last few games. But I decided to red-shirt.”
That decision gives Teddleton three years of eligibility at KU.
“After people found out my injury wasn’t that serious I started to get some calls from colleges later,” he said. “Then after the season more schools started calling.”
The five schools that showed the most interest were Kansas, Memphis, Arkansas, LSU, and Middle Tennessee State.
Here is a list of the players known to have given Kansas University’s football team nonbinding oral commitments, with name, height, weight, position and previous school:
Anthony Brown, 6-1, 205, LB, Grandview (Mo.)
Banks Floodman, 6-3, 195 S-TB, Wichita Collegiate
Greg Heaggans, 6-1, 185, WR, KC Schlagle
Justin Henry, 6-4, 235, LB, Hoyt Royal Valley
Derrick Ming, 5-11, 235, FB-LB, Webster Groves (Mo.)
Ted Sims, 6-1, 205, LB, Newton
DeShawn Spivey, 6-3, 225, DE, KC Washington
Johnnie Watkins, 5-10, 170, CB, Kirkwood (Mo.)
Greg Cole, 6-3, 230, DE/OLB, Hutchinson Community College
Charlie Dennis, 6-5, 240, DE, Butler County CC
Leo Etienne, 6-1, 210, LB, Hutchinson CC
John Harvey, 6-6, 305, OL Mesa (Ariz.) CC
Dan Lewis, 6-5, 295, OL, Phoenix College
Jawad Pearson, 6-5, 300, Chaffey (Calif.) College
Brock Teddleton, 6-6, 340, OL, Coffeyville CC
